A directed object graph includes a number of objects with relationships between the objects that have a direction. For example, a directed object graph of a directory structure includes files and folders where a file or a folder can have a directed relationship ‘parent’ with the folder in which the file or folder resides. When executing transaction instructions for storing a directed object graph using a relational database, a given transaction instruction may require another transaction instruction be executed prior to it. For example, an instruction to create an object with a ‘parent’ relationship requires the parent object exist prior to the instruction executing; in other words an instruction to create the parent object needs to have been executed before the instruction to create the child object with a parent relationship to the parent object. So that if the instructions are created in an incorrect order, the relational database may not be able to execute a transaction instruction upon receipt of the instruction.
A simple solution, in a situation where the order of the transaction instruction is being taken from another process, such as transferring the directed object graph between a client and a server, is to configure the transfer process to transfer the objects and relationships in a proper order. Then, the transaction instructions associated with the transferred objects and relationships can be created as the objects and relationships arrive. However, this requires an understanding by the transferring agent of the client of the rules or proper order associated with the relational database of the server. One solution to this is to encode the rules in the transferring agent of the client in the form a custom application. However, this poses problems as processing becomes more distributed and transferring agents must be updated to maintain current understandings of all rules associated with each of potentially a plurality of servers. It would be beneficial to be able to transfer directed object graphs without concern for what order objects and relationships are transferred and efficiently create transaction instructions for storing the directed object graph in a relational database.